In the inserter field, it is known to have a modular inserter system wherein various types of modules can be combined to form inserter machines which meet the particular needs of each user. An example of a table top modular inserter system is described in U.S. Pa. No. 4,942,535, issued Jul. 17, 1990 to Robert J. Francisco and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The types of modules which may be combined to form an inserter machine include, but are not limited to feeder, folder, accumulator and insert station modules.
An important feature of the modular inserter systems is a control system which is compatible to the modular concept. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,535, there is described a communication system for controlling a modular inserter. The communication system includes peer-to-peer communication whereby each module is controlled by its own microprocessor based on signals received from an adjacent module.
One important feature of a modular inserter system with each module having a microprocessor is that the various module types are combinable in virtually any order to form an inserter machine. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,535, once the modules are connected, the control system, through the microprocessors in each module, automatically determines the configuration and number of modules at start-up.
Another important feature of a modular table top inserter is the size or footprint of the inserter, which is directly dependent on the number and size of the modules being combined to form the inserter. Typically, the number of modules that make up an inserter machine determines the cost of the machine. For every feeder module included in an inserter, the size of the inserter is increased by the full size of the feeder module and the cost is increased by the hardware, assembly and software comprising the feeder module. Additionally, with each feeder module in the inserter the control system may be further burdened by another microprocessor added to the communication loop to control the feeder module.